So...about them 10 Zlotych coins

Weiss

They are awful purty. Anyone got more info about them? Specifically the 1932 & 1933s? iccoin.com seems to imply that they were kind of a general trade dollar for Europe between the wars.

I've searched for the last couple of days, but there don't appear to be any slabbed, and none higher than "XF"s. No uncs for these pieces?

lordmarcovan

I'm sure there are UNC's out there.

1jester

There are uncirculated examples out there, but they are few and very far between, with commensurate prices. If you really want uncirculated ones, be prepared to outbid/outsnipe others for slabbed ones.

Kurt4

Great site.....Second Republic.. He's a member here.

secondrepublic

As far as I know, these weren't used outside of Poland (maybe a little by traders in Eastern Europe??)

UNC are tough to find. You'll wait a long, long time to see a real UNC 1932 or 1933 ten zlotych on eBay. 90%+ of these that people list as UNC on eBay are not even close to UNC.

About a year ago I saw a nicely patinated one (which is rare) that looked to me to be UNC that sold for only around $20 on eBay. The photo wasn't great, so that may have put off some buyers. But it's unlikely you could get one from someone who knows what they're selling for less than $75 dollars. Even at that price, compared with their scarcity, they are undervalued in my opinion. There just are not a lot of those coins out there.

Your best bet to buy one quickly is probably in Poland, but Poland has rules forbidding the export of pre-war Polish coins unless you get government permission (and good luck getting it). Most major dealers won't send you the coins. But a lot of smaller sellers will, you just have to talk to them (though the problem with these guys is often that you won't get an UNC - you'll get something less).

In the US, Karl Stephens and Ernest Ochocinski are dealers who may have these coins or be able to get them.

A seller on the Polish auction site Allegro.pl was selling two that looked to be UNC just a few days ago. He was asking around $150 each (I think about 550 Polish zlotych) for them. I don't think they sold.

Weiss

Thanks, guys!

Weiss

<< <i>Great site.....Second Republic.. He's a member here. >>



Oh my, you're right. Here's one that gots to be at least 64. Check the detail on her head band!

mrearlygold

secondrepublic

The place to look for wear on these coins is (1) on the woman's head, on the horizonal stripes of her headband, especially right above her eyes and temple, and (2) on the eagle's head, especially the eye (should be a full eye) and on the three dots in the crown. Also, the eagle's tailfeathers in between the "19" and "32" (or "33") should have sharp, unbroken vertical lines. Those are the initial spots of wear on this coin.

An exception is the 1932 5 zlotych version of these coins. The 1932 Warsaw 5 zl. (i.e., with mintmark in the eagle's right lower claw), which is rare, was struck very poorly, and will not have all these details even in really nice condition.

Also, the 1932 London 5 zl. even in UNC seems to have uneven striking in the the eagle's tailfeathers in between the "19" and "32". On several legitimately UNC specimens I have seen, the tailfeathers do not have sharp, unbroken vertical lines (maybe a clogged die?).

Weiss

Thanks, secondrepublic. That's precisely the kind of info I was looking for.

Are you aware that these traded outside the country on a large scale?

secondrepublic

No, I had never heard of them trading outside of Poland. I would expect you would find them in neighboring countries, maybe because of the way goods were traded back in the 20s and 30s. But I hadn't heard of them being widely used in other countries.